Run, Run, Run
by And The Moment's Gone
Summary: The entire combination reminds her that this was definitely not how the night was supposed to play out. What had started out as a kiss to the cheek and a playful 'ha-hurr' went sideways at light speed, and she's not sure if she's upset about that. [Companion Piece to Sooner or Later]
1. Chapter 1: I Write Sins, Not Tragedies

Title: Run, Run, Run  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 1,792  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Lucas Friar and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Kelly Clarkson song _Run Run Run_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

There is a laundry list of things that could have led to this moment, but Maya's trying very hard not to think about that.

Instead, she's thinking about the hands on her hips, and the stubble under her palm, and the fact that if she moves just so the man under her groans a little too loudly. She's fairly certain it's the Jameson running through her veins, or the outdated Kelly Clarkson in the air, that makes her not care that they're sharing a chair in the middle of someone's house party. Riley and her boyfriend left half an hour ago, the Matthews' curfew just a tad more strict than hers is, which was something that Maya had never really thought to appreciate until this very moment.

If she can make it through the night with her dignity intact, she just may owe Cory a thank you note.

A nip on her clavicle reminds her that she's been an inactive participant for just a little too long. Her arm wraps itself more firmly around his shoulder, fingernails digging into the tender flesh of the nape of his neck, and she redirects lips back up to hers, forcing thoughts of Matthews and curfews out of her mind.

He tastes like Miller Lite and mint gum, his hands are firm against her skin, and the entire combination reminds her that this was _definitely_ not how the night was supposed to play out. What had started out as a kiss to the cheek and a playful 'ha-hurr' went sideways at light speed, and she's not sure if she's upset about it.

Her partner kisses her with the same single-minded meticulousness he exhibits on the field. It would be scary if it weren't hot, and with what little brainpower she's got left, Maya is appreciative that none of their friends were there to see it. She's seen him angry, she's seen him stressed and tense and itching for a fight.

This was an entirely different animal.

Then, as if he's finally realized what's going on, he pulls away.

And Maya knows what's coming next.

There are three different kinds of apologies in the world of Maya Hart. The first one is sincere. You know you did something so out of line, or incomprehensible that you're never going to make up for it, but that doesn't stop you from steadfastly declaring your remorse, and holding on tightly to your regret. The second is superficial. You're either not sure, or you don't care what it was that you did, but someone took offense, and the concession is in order to restore the peace.

It's the third kind that falls from Lucas Friar's lips, stuttering and breathless. He's a little boy with his hand caught in the cookie jar, not at all sorry for taking what he wants, but for being caught doing it.

Maya can't help the breath that rushes from her lungs, and she grips his shoulders to keep herself still.

"So," blowing another breath out of her lungs is painful, and not just because he still hasn't relinquished his grip on her hips and she is anchored pretty tightly into his lap. The obvious quip is half a second away, and she knows that the proper thing to do when you've just drunkenly started making out with your best male friend is to extradite yourself, go home and sober up. Clearly awkward conversations about things you shouldn't be doing required hangovers, and caffeine, and probably a mediator.

And she's too busy planning out her night of self-flagellation to notice that her partner in crime isn't really interested in what's supposed to happen next. While one hand anchors her hips, the other slides up her back, pausing to enjoy the soft skin of her back left exposed by the intricate straps on her tank top. Her entire body shivers again, and he takes that moment to thread his free hand into her hair, scratching her scalp and pulling her mouth crashing back down so he can imprint his disingenuous apology onto her lips.

There is no way to tell which one of them groans, and their lips swallow sound and breath alike as he pulls her hips forward. Maya allows it if only for the fact that she's not entirely sure she could physically stop him, and the grin he gives her when she has to pull her mouth away to gasp at the friction can only be classified as dirty.

Maya leaned in further, brushing her nose against his. "You sure you're up for this, Cowboy?"

If it was a question or giving either one of them an out, Lucas obviously wasn't taking it. His hand slid up and down her back carefully,

The next kiss was strong, careful. Lucas allowed her to lean closer and he didn't hesitate to lock their lips, shifting her hips closer so she was the one that had to hold on.

This wasn't pressure, barely even persuasion.

While Lucas was laying it on a little thick - something she attributed to the alcohol and lust cascading through his system - the second she hesitated or mentioned being the slightest bit uncomfortable he would flip the switch and become her concerned Huckleberry again. He would get her another drink, offer to take her home or whatever else he needed to do, and this would never be mentioned again.

Which could be another reason why the trill elevating up and down Maya's spine had nothing to do with nerves.

"Not here," she decided after a deep breath, eyeing the room around them. The party had begun to die down shortly after Riley left, and the classmates that remained weren't the type of people to remember their indiscretions, or particularly care. That didn't mean that she wanted witnesses either.

Her mother's in Jersey for the night, she got the text shortly after walking into the party. She's having trouble getting some of the choreography down for her newest show, and one of the other members of the chorus line had studio space in their basement and offered to go over the moves with her until she had them. Maya may or may not have responded that it was great, and she would just crash with Riley so her mother wouldn't worry about her being alone. She had originally planned to take a cab to TriBeCa after the party, and let Shawn's collection of British comedies lull her to sleep.

The apartment in question was empty, it's owner left the day before on assignment in California. She's equal parts terrified and thrilled that the calming solitude that she was going to take advantage of earlier now means something else entirely. Running through possible scenarios in her mind - and reminding herself to text Riley and tell her that she's staying at Shawn's, and her mother doesn't know - Maya realized that she's not the only one that will need an alibi. "What would you have to do to convince Mama Friar that you're staying at Zay's?"

Another kiss, which Lucas attributes to the fact that she's still sitting on top of him, and they haven't touched each other otherwise in the last minute and a half, before his brain kicks back into gear. He's used this ploy exactly two other times in his high school career. Amazingly enough, both were for less lascivious reasons. He's fairly certain that if he called his mama and told her that Maya had had too much to drink and - since he was a good friend and Katy wasn't home - he wanted to stay with her to make sure she was okay, he would be granted permission. But Carol Ann Friar was no stranger to the rest of his friends and their parents, and all it would take would be Cory casually mentioning that Maya was hangover free that weekend, or someone mentioning the blonde not going home and it would all be over.

"Why Zay?" He asks finally, as Maya grinds down on him again. It was an accident, he can tell by the blush creeping up on her cheeks and the way she makes another attempt to stand, this time using his shoulders as leverage. They've decided that they're taking this show on the road, so it appears that she's a little eager to get out of there.

"His parents are out of town." It's the first thing that drew Maya to that particular scheme. Followed quickly by, "And he's the only one that won't ask you why you need someone to lie to your mom if she happens to call in the morning and you don't pick up."

Lucas had never been happier that Maya's brain never stopped. As Maya pulled his jacket over her shoulders, he got to his feet, pulling his phone out of his back pocket and scrolling down to text his mother. The party was boring, he's seeing the girls home and then he and Zay were going to salvage their night by playing GTA and watching the new Terminator movie.

His next message told her that he remembered brunch at the Henderson's uptown and that he would be home to shower and change as soon as he wakes so they won't be late. The entire experience was surreal, and he realized that while he was typing,

Maya was leading him out of the party by his belt buckle, her other hand snaked backward to wrap around his bicep. When his phone was shoved back into his pocket, he gripped her hips, dislodging her hands and turning to pin her against the wall by the front door. He stooped slightly, to make sure their mouths lined up, and then used his leverage on her jeans to lift her up to his height when he got tired of bending his knees to kiss her.

They're three blocks away from a bed and no interruptions, but it doesn't matter to Lucas, who is taking his time to thoroughly enjoy the fact that Maya has wrapped her legs around his waist in an attempt to maintain an iota of control. She wrenches her mouth away to breathe, smacking the back of her head against the wall before tucking it under his chin. "We need a bed," she rasps, patting his shoulder in what he thinks is a signal for him to let her down.

He doesn't bother to remove his hand from her ass as she slides back down to her feet. She knows if she looks at him again, they're not making it out with their clothing intact, so she takes another gulp of air, grabs one hand, threading their fingers together, and pulls him out into the night air.


	2. Chapter 2: A Little Less Conversation

Title: Run, Run, Run  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 1,787  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Lucas Friar and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Kelly Clarkson song _Run Run Run_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Maya spent the weekend avoiding him.

Or at least that was the best Lucas could come up with. Of the fifteen text messages he sent her on Saturday, only one was returned. She apologized for sleeping through his leaving, mentioned spending the weekend with her Mom, and then didn't answer anything incoming after. He only sent two texts on Sunday, both with an invitation to dinner that she never acknowledged, and when he and Zay wound up at _Topanga's_ for dessert, even Riley had said Maya'd been scarce.

He was still trying to convince himself that he hadn't managed to annihilate one of his closest friendships with three exhausting hours of sex when Maya and Farkle wandered onto the quad Monday morning, Riley had been dropped off early for one club meeting or another, and Lucas hadn't been told until he had gotten to school that Maya had asked Farkle if he would wait for her to help her go over the vocab words one more time before her test. It wasn't an unusual request unless you took into account that either Maya or Farkle would have to change trains to intersect with the other.

Which meant that Maya would have been able to get on a later train, and not run into him.

Lucas cursed into his travel mug, blatantly ignoring the surprised glower that Zay threw his way. His friend followed his line of sight and then looked back at him, eyebrows high. "Everything okay?"

"Good morning gentlemen," Farkle rotated his satchel against his hip so he could lean against the wall, sliding his own travel mug into the side pocket. "How was everyone's weekend?"

Maya was too busy taking a sip of her own coffee to answer; the mug in her hands was one that she could only have gotten from Shawn. Which meant that Maya had at least spent last night at Shawn's.

So much for her spending the weekend with her mother.

And now Lucas felt worse.

"Had someone's Mama call me so I could remind him that he needed a shower before brunch," Zay was regaling the group when Lucas finally came back to himself. He honestly had no idea when Riley and Will had arrived, Apparently Riley had been plying her best friend with tales from her date Saturday night, and Maya's head popped up when Zay poked him in the ribs. "Funny thing was, I was home by my lonesome."

All eyes turned to Lucas now, and Maya's eyes caught his for a split second. He didn't need her to tell him out loud that announcing he was with her would not be good for his health.

Coughing nervously, Lucas moved his eyes back to Zay, hoping that the smile on his face could somehow be misconstrued as nervous pride. Why, oh why had his best friend not mentioned that part either time they had seen each other that weekend?

Lucas was still trying to figure out how to talk his way out of talking about it when Maya threaded her arm through Riley's. "Well that's what you get for missing Caitlin's party," she cocked an eyebrow as if to proclaim that him leaving the party with someone had been the highlight of her evening. "And you two for leaving early." Her arm wrapped around Will as well.

"Oh, this _cannot_ happen again," Zay shook his head and cocked an eyebrow at him. "And _you_ owe me details."

The first bell of the day rang, and Maya dropped her best friend's arm and readjusted her bag. If he tried to disinterest Zay by telling him that no details were needed because it wasn't that great, would he have to gain even more ground with Maya? Could he accurately describe his night after the party without giving away who he'd actually been with?

Again, Maya seemed to save him, patting Zay on the chest on her way past. "He was pretty far gone, Babineaux." She didn't spare him a look as she moved to the doors. Farkle caught one before she did, holding it open for her. "You'll be lucky if he even _remembers_ her name."

As the rest of the group broke off to their first classes of the day, Lucas caught up with Maya in two strides, slipping his free hand between her bag and her jacket, catching her hip. Her step faltered, and he stepped up behind her to drop his mouth to her ear. "I wasn't that far gone," he whispered carefully.

Her entire body shuddered, and her hand came down to dislodge his without another word. By the time he realized that he was no longer touching her, she had skirted between two freshmen and scuttled down the hall.

Well, that could have gone worse.

* * *

She managed to steer clear of him for the rest of the day, taking lunch in the art room and not waiting for Riley after school under the guise of being called in for a shift at Topanga's.

He's not entirely sure which is more surprising, the fact that when he and Zay wander into _Topanga's_ later that night, she's there, leaning against the counter with one eye on the door and her Econ text and notebook open behind the pastry counter, or that her smile is bright as she greets them both. Maya's got two mugs from under the counter, and is on her way to the cappuccino machine before they can make across the room.

"Can I interest you boys in some dessert?" It's entirely too flirtatious after dodging him for a full three days, but it makes Zay laugh, so he supposed that was the point. She pulled the tray of desserts that had yet to sell from the case, and set them on the counter, As Zay perused his sugar high, Maya turned to grab plates. "I think there might even be some chocolate cheesecake left in the fridge if you're **very** nice to me."

"Lucas can be nice," Zay announced, grabbing a plate and sliding behind the counter. "I'm eating cheesecake!"

It wasn't as if either of them had expected anything else. "Save a slice for me!" Maya called behind him, rolling her eyes. "I've been dreaming about that since I found it last night!" When Zay didn't respond, she spared a quick glance around the room before turning toward the door he had disappeared through. "If I go home cheesecake less, I'm gonna kick your ass!"

"You realize that doesn't guarantee that he'll save you any?" Lucas took his coffee mug carefully; making sure that their hands didn't touch. He was determined to keep any ground that he had garnered over the last ten minutes.

There was a quick shrug, and Maya smiled grimly. "I didn't need you to remind me of that," she offered grimly. There was a moment when their eyes locked before she pulled her bottom lip between her teeth and turned, grabbing her own cappuccino mug from beneath the register.

And Lucas had to keep from spit-taking when he realized that those two motions, executed fluidly, just screamed nervousness to him.

Which meant that she wasn't as unaffected as she liked to pretend she was.

"Maya-"

But she was too quick for him. Dropping her hands to her apron, Maya leaned into the counter with a huff. "Can we just not?" There was a moment's hesitation as Maya ran a hand through her hair and cast a wary eye to the door to the back room. Zay should be back any moment, and neither one out them would be able to fake the kind of neutrality needed to keep him from asking questions. Because all jokes aside, Zay was not oblivious.

It was official. Women were insane.

"The _hell_?" Lucas followed her line of sight, relieved that there were only two other patrons at _Topanga's_ that night, and they were both outside. **"** _That_ and then: 'can we just not?'"

Okay, so that may have been the wrong choice of words to use, but Maya wasn't trying to win any awards at the moment. "As succinct and _totally_ not awkward as a conversation with you about what happened on Friday night would probably be at this very moment," Maya forced a breath, trying desperately to keep her voice down. "You and I both have _entirely_ too much on our plates to be trying to navigate _that_ minefield. Not to mention Mister 'Do You Wanna Know a Secret' in the back room."

Zay picked that particular moment to shout something about whipped cream from the back, unknowingly emphasizing Maya's point.

"So I'm going to have to stick to 'can we just not?'"

Lucas nodded carefully, taking a long sip of his coffee while he tried to think of his next move. "Are we _ever_ going to talk about it?" Maya's deep breath was all he needed to see. "Maya!"

She flinched when he hissed her name, and for a split second, Maya wished that she could wrap herself up in his arms again and have him tell her that they would figure this whole sorted mess out. But then she wouldn't be Maya Hart. "Lucas," she hissed back, her hands coming up to hug her elbows. "You and I were left unattended at a house party with entirely too much alcohol and we decided to make some very questionable life decisions."

For her sanity's sake, Maya decided to leave off the part about it being one of her better mistakes as of late. And, against her better judgment, if the opportunity presented itself again, she just may have to take him up on it.

She didn't have to make this any more complicated than it already was.

"It was epic," if she made a crack about giving him a gold star, Lucas really might lose his shit. "But that's all it was." The back door slammed, and Zay returned triumphant with three pieces of cheesecake, drenched in what looked like raspberry sauce. "Let's not make a bigger deal about this than it is."

Pappy Joe always liked to remind Lucas that friendship meant understanding, not agreeing. "Sure," he nodded after a moment, hoping that while he was trying to grasp the fact that Maya was avoiding this hardcore for a reason, she could see that he wasn't going to let it go so easily.

She could have sworn she heard Lucas mutter 'if that's how you want it,' as she pulled the whipped cream canister from the small fridge behind the counter and turned to Zay. "A god among men, Babineaux." Maya declared with gusto, shaking the can and turning it upside down to liberally apply whipped confection to her piece. She handed it off, after all, she wasn't going to be responsible for anyone else's sugar high, and distributed forks.

"There's gonna be a post-season party at Camilla Winston's this weekend." Zay looked from blonde to blonde as he relayed this news. He'd gotten the invite via text while he was in the backroom. It was entirely possible that Lucas had one on his phone too.

"Pass." Maya's voice was too fast, and her tone more than a little high. She gulped the mouthful of chocolate on her fork and smiled. "Farkle's got that debate thing Saturday and Sunday." She reminded them. "I _cannot_ handle that and a hangover."

Lucas eyes her over the top of his mug. "So don't drink," he supplied nowhere near helpfully.

For the briefest of seconds, she wondered if snapping a command of the first lewd act that he could perform on his own person she could think of would be a good way to get him to drop his desire for a full conversation about last Friday, while telling him that she wasn't interested in putting herself in the same position so soon.

Zay couldn't tell which one of them was more concentrated on the other. "You just want to see your girl again." He smiled when Lucas choked on his fork, damn near dropping it on the floor in the process.

He didn't realize that Maya wasn't joining him in his teasing.

He did notice they were still looking intently at one another.

"I think it's time for you to take your friend home, Babineaux." Maya was already turning to locate some to-go boxes as she was speaking, her tongue worrying her lip. She knew she should have just told Topanga that she couldn't take today's shift. But Chrissie was having her baby, and it hadn't seemed right to her.

"But I'm not done with my cake!" Lucas was still staring intently at Maya, and Zay stabbed what was left of his cheesecake to emphasize his point. "You're not supposed to close for another half hour anyway."

Maya tucked the paper bags under her arm so she could get them, the boxes, and the paper cups that the boys would need all in one trip. "Manager's prerogative," Maya announced, and she couldn't help but hear a little voice in the back of her head that said that it looked like she was just trying to hide.

She briefly considered flipping Lucas off for somehow projecting it.

"I've got that test in History tomorrow, and you two have conditioning first thing." It was unclear when she had studied their sports schedules, or maybe she had just taken to noticing which mornings she was without them on the subway. "The place is dead, and I doubt Mrs. Matthews would mind."

She wasn't planning on closing early, and one glance from Lucas told her that he knew it.

Zay reluctantly slid his pie into the new receptacle, frowning over at Lucas. Whatever it was that was going on with the two of them was cutting into his time eating cake. He really didn't have the patience for one of their little tiffs tonight. "Tomorrow you're making this up to me." He pointed at Maya with his fork, before dropping it into his now-empty coffee mug.

Maya just saluted, moving the dirty dishes into the empty sink.

"Fix this," Zay took Lucas's bag and headed to the door, making it a point that he was going to be waiting outside. "See ya tomorrow Maya!"

"Yep!"

And then there were two.

"Go home Hopalong." Her back was to the counter, and Lucas, and Maya was concentrating on getting the dishes hand washed so the opening manager didn't have to unload the dishwasher.

He uses her distraction as motive to slip behind the counter, and he boxes her into the area by the sink with just his frame. "Zay noticed something's up." He tells her when she turns around; both hands already up and ready to push him back. They are both as aware of this moment as they were Friday night that he wouldn't force her into anything that she didn't say she wanted, but he had to get his point across. "We need to talk about this."

"We don't." It only takes one good shove to knock him off balance, mostly because he catches a whiff of her perfume, and there's a split second where his vision whites out and he can see her laying below him. "It was a mistake, and we're moving past it."

"Don't do that." And now it was Maya's turn to shove away memories. They had been at each other's mercies for entirely too long Friday night. "Maya, we're friends. We can talk about this."

"We _are_ friends." She reiterates, spinning around and running a shaking hand through her hair. "And friends don't sleep with each other." She completely skirts over the fact that friends _did sleep_ together. Zay himself had had a brief friend with benefits situation over Christmas break with someone from Texas. "It complicates things, and we don't need that." She took a steadying breath, locking eyes with him. " _I_ don't need that."

It would have been more humane to just stab him with the forks she was still holding.

"So we're going to have a few days where talking is hard," he took a step forward, she took a step back. "And we're gonna have to figure out a new touching policy," they did the bizarre dance one more time, Maya soon discovering that she was running out of room to retreat. "But we're never going to talk about this again."

There was a staggering breath, and neither would be able to claim memory of it before Maya turned her back on Lucas. "Tell Zay it's fixed, and have a good night."

His arms came around her slowly; chin resting on the top of her head. "You too." He gave her one slow squeeze before backing up, readjusting his jacket and heading for the door.

* * *

The front door slammed before she could stop herself, and Maya froze, listening to the creaks and groans of the building to try to figure out if her mother had made it home.

It was just her luck when Katy came around the corner from her bedroom, coffee cup in one hand, and sheet music in the other. "Hello sweetheart," the cup was deposited in the sink and then Katy walked around the small island to wrap her arms around her daughter. "How was your day?"

"It was a day." Maya slid out of her mother's embrace so she could pull her book bag off of her shoulders, dropping it, and her purse, onto one of the stools. "Chrissie's water broke this morning, so I've picked up a few extra shifts this week."

"So your message said." For all the bluster and bull that Maya could brush over her day to day when it came to her friends, Katy realized that her daughter still had a long way to go when it came to cultivating a good poker face. Maya was practically buzzing, her right hand shaking, and her bottom lip almost permanently trapped between her teeth. She'd been distracted when she got home Saturday, and while they had used their once a month Mother/Daughter Date on a trip to the movies and hibachi, Katy couldn't help but notice that whatever it was that had Maya strung out, had been brewing for a few days. "How was your day?"

The curse was to her lips before Maya could remember whom she was standing in front of. Katy brushed it off, crossing her arms against her chest, and waiting for Maya to take a deep breath. "It was a day," she said again, licking her lips in order to stop herself from worrying them.

"I'm gonna go ahead and guess that whatever it is you're stressing about is something you're not wanting to talk about."

Her mother was good. Maya would definitely give her that. Instead of answering immediately, Maya pulled the to-go cup she pilfered from Shawn's out of her bag and moved further into the kitchen, stripping it into it's three pieces and setting it in the sink. "Not really." She agreed after another minute, finally turning to look at her mom.

Katy nodded. It was at least a start. "Then in the interest of not talking about it," she offered, setting the music sheets down on the counter and focusing her full attention on her daughter. "Will you at least tell me if it has something to do with you lying to me Friday about you sleeping over at the Matthews' House?"

This time, Maya really did curse. "Mom," she started, "I-"

"You were at Shawn's," Katy said knowingly. "Whether or not you were alone is something that neither he nor I _really_ want to know." Shawn had texted Katy first thing Sunday morning when the app on his phone told him that the alarm hadn't bet set the night before. She'd reminded him that she had been in Jersey, and Maya had gone to a party, and that – while her daughter was no saint – she wasn't about to flaunt any possibility of inebriation to Cory and Topanga.

She hadn't mentioned the fact that Maya had texted her that she was sleeping at Riley's just hours before.

Her daughter's duplicitousness was something she would have to deal with alone.

She managed to hold onto her irritation up until her daughter's face contorted and her tiny frame seemed to collapse onto itself on the other end of the island. Maya didn't fall to the floor, seeming to have enough strength or frame of mind to keep herself upright on the Island.

"Oh baby," she made it across the room in record time, wrapping her arms around her daughter and pulling them both to the floor.

"I did something _really_ stupid." Maya whispered into his mother's shoulder. She wasn't crying, not yet, but there was something to be said about finally being at a point in her and her mother's relationship that this kind of comfort was an option.

Taking a deep breath, Katy realized that if she were going to get any information out of her daughter, they were going to have to bypass this much emotion. Neither Hart did well with it, and Maya would rather bottle it up than deal with it. "Are you pregnant?"

The noise that came out of Maya's mouth was a cross between a hiccup and a squeak. "No!" She all but shouted, bringing her hands up to her face. Talking sex was mortifying enough – thank you Mr. Matthews – but Maya was on the pill, and they had used condoms. She and Lucas were incredibly smart for being idiots.

It would have been far too early to tell anyway.

"Good." Katy brushed Maya's hair back from her face and kissed her forehead. "Because you're the last kid in this family born without a ring involved," she scolded carefully. "Got it?" Maya nodded, not entirely sure what the proper response was supposed to be. It was quiet for another minute, and Katy's hand dropped to Maya's shoulder. "But I take it this is still about sex?"

There was a sniffle, and Katy cursed herself for the possibility of pushing too soon before Maya nodded.

"Please tell me it wasn't Farkle."

Another snort, this one more painful than the last, and Maya raised wide eyes to her mother. "The hell?" She asked harshly.

 _Lucas it was_ , Katy decided slowly. Maya was wild, and some might say a little reckless, but she wouldn't be sweating something that couldn't damage her already fragile world. "He's a dear!" She tried for levity, winking conspiratorially. "And you know his father's net worth."

"I'm not hearing this." Maya snapped, scooting out of her mother's arms and slamming her fingers into her ears. "There is no universe in existence where I would _ever_ sleep with Farkle."

"So what was your something stupid?" Katy pulled Maya's hands clear from her face and looked her daughter in the eye. When Maya shuttered, Katy pulled herself to her feet, grabbing the large saucepan from the cabinet and reaching for the fridge. "Hot cocoa?"

Her mother was insane. Maya shook her head to clear it and then looked up at Katy. Or she had suddenly developed the weirdest case of attention deficit disorder she'd ever seen. "What?"

"Cocoa." Katy held up the milk and cocoa powder. "You and I missed the birds and the bees talk." She'd been startled to discover that Cory had taken care of that her freshmen year, and relieved to find out that Shawn had taken it upon himself to correct the education that his best friend had imparted. Katy hadn't felt the need to reiterate what had already been said, choosing instead to reinforce Shawn's offer and make a clinic appointment for Maya herself – because there was more than one use for birth control, and she was too young to be a grandma. "So we're just going to move along to the supportive girl-talk that I've decided we're gonna have when you're in college, and the thought of you having sex doesn't absolutely terrify me."

She'd managed to move from abject terror, to despair for the possible loss of a friendship, to laughing at her mother about the future in a total of fifteen minutes. Had Maya known that it would be like this, she would have opted for hot chocolate and chick-flicks two days ago.

But then she wouldn't have had the opportunity to tell her mother that she wigged on Lucas at _Topanga's_ tonight.

"We can refer to it as 'playing Jenga' if it'll help your sensibilities." Maya decided after a moment, pulling herself to her feet and replacing her backpack with her bottom on the stool closest to her.

"You're a funny girl," reaching for the mugs hanging near the stove, Katy winked at her daughter.


	3. Chapter 3: Arsonist's Lullabye

Title: Run, Run, Run  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,026  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Lucas Friar and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Kelly Clarkson song _Run, Run, Run_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

Two weeks.

Maya had promised Lucas 'a few days' where talking would be hard.

It lasted two weeks.

And he wasn't entirely sure that they weren't speaking now for the sheer fact that Farkle and Riley were driving the conversation, and they were really just along for the ride.

Both figuratively and literally.

Even though she had vowed to go to college wherever Maya did – in flurry of brash solidarity that both Maya and Cory had decided was just plain stupid – when one of the partners of Topanga's firm offered up his ticket to a law symposium at Yale, it was immediately decided that this would be the perfect opportunity for Riley to at least look at another option. And in a second outburst, Riley announced that she would only be going with her mother if Maya could come with.

A dinner conversation between Topanga and Stewart Minkus led to Farkle going with them – his mother was in Paris at a conference, and his father refused to force his siblings to make the trip. Maya's still not sure how Lucas got invited, or why Zay got to opt out of this trip – although she suspected it had something to do with the fact that Zay was an A&M legacy, and his college decision had already been more or less made for him – but here they were stuck on a three hour train ride to New Haven, facing each other.

Maya just thanked every available higher power that Mr. Minkus had upgraded them all to first class, so they weren't on top of each other.

Not that that helped too much.

"Father said there's a rare book and manuscript library on the law campus." Farkle was thumbing through some sort of binder that contained all of the notes that his father had wanted to share even though he wouldn't be able to go with them. "And the dorms are immaculate, even though I would most likely require off-campus housing." There was a pause, and Farkle seemed to take in all the breath he would need for the next fifteen minutes of conversation. "I have my specific study regimen, and father and I agree that a roommate may not be conducive to that."

"I'm not going to mind having a roommate." Lucas decided as he took a sip of his soda. They'd put Maya in the seat across from him in order to maximize legroom, and the blonde shot him a questioning look. "I think it's cool that as students we'll be exposed to other cultures and ways of life." He watched Maya's skeptical smirk rise and nudged her foot.

It came as no surprise that Riley would agree wholeheartedly. Maya had seen her thumbing around the Yale Sorority web pages while they had eaten dinner. Knowing her best friend the way she did, the girl would rush a soro, and be living in the house by the end of the year.

"Well you guys have fun," the blonde decided, pulling her legs further up into her chair with her and pivoting so Riley's head was higher up on her shoulder. "With any luck, my SATs will get me into NYU, and I can _keep_ my bedroom." She laughed when Farkle just looked appalled. "It's cozy, I've had seventeen years to decorate it, and my roommate is currently considering applying for positions in touring companies."

"But you'll be lonely!"

Topanga finally looked up from her paperwork then, watching Maya roll her eyes at her daughter and send an apologetic glance at the business man three rows ahead of them. When she realized that no interference would be needed, it was her turn to smile.

"No loneliness necessary," Maya interjected. "If you decide on Yale, you'll only be two hours away." She bopped Riley on the nose and then pointed across the seat. "Lucas's gonna be in Ithaca –"

"That hasn't been decided yet," Lucas interjected, watching Maya roll her eyes again. Grand Pappy had a quote for that too.

"You got triple 76's on your PSATs, asshole." While she had to admit that she was a little louder than originally intended, the smirk that spread across Lucas's lips was worth it. "The only person in the school who did better than you was Farkle. You're gonna get your top choice school." Riley was nodding emphatically beside her, and she shrugged. "Just shut up and accept it." Another breath and she returned her gaze to Riley, returning back to their original topic. "And unlike you three losers, I'll have direct access to all the free food I want."

Topanga couldn't keep her laugh in now, announcing to all four teens that she was paying attention to them instead of the brief that she was supposed to be previewing to get a head start on returning to work.

"There's nothing saying that you won't get into another school, Maya." Farkle was trying to be supportive, but they all knew that her grades didn't give her the same kind of stand to be decisive.

She shrugged, winking at her skinny friend to let him know that she appreciated his faith, even if she didn't share it, and then glanced down at her best friend, who somehow had managed to practically climb into her lap. "Free food, my own bed, and Uncle Josh," the last part was said for Riley's benefit, and the younger girl popped upright just to swat at the blonde. "What more can I ask for in a college?"

* * *

They didn't reach their hotel until it late, Topanga checking them in and handing out keys, demanding that they, at least, pretend to be responsible young adults while they were there. Since the firm had reserved a room when the conference had first been announced, she and the teens were on two separate floors, and other than Maya's jokes about ordering early morning wake up calls for random guests, she wasn't too worried about it. The breakfast reception that had been planned was scheduled for 9, so with a kiss to each of the girl's foreheads, a reminder to behave and meet her on campus at eleven forty for her first break, and an exasperated 'you have separate rooms for a reason,' she took got off the elevator at her own floor.

Half an hour later, Maya realized that it was a good thing that Topanga wasn't likely to come knocking on the door to their rooms before she left for the day.

Riley and Farkle had passed out on the couch and armchair, respectively. Maya laughed at the fact that the younger boy had a School of Medicine pamphlet stuck to his forehead.

It's Riley's, Farkle is definitely going into politics, but neither of them was sure how to remove it without waking the genius.

"You'd think that they didn't stay up all last night cramming, powerhouse through three tests in addition to their usual schoolwork, and down espresso shots before the train ride to stay awake." Lucas dropped to his knees and slowly pulled Farkle's shoe off. When the younger man didn't move, he grabbed the other.

Maya wasn't nearly as delicate with Riley. "Amateurs." She pulled the clips from the girl's hair, turned her to lay flat on the couch, and covered her with a comforter from one of the beds.

She was vaguely aware of the fact that they hadn't decided whose room they had set up shop in yet.

She was well aware that she could have asked Lucas to carry Riley across the hall to the other room. The brunette could and would sleep through a marching band passing through the room, so it wasn't like she had to be worried that she'd wake. But she kind of liked the thought that she would get a room to herself after being confined to cramped quarters with her three best friends for a few hours.

Which was the most time she'd spent in Lucas's company at one time since that fateful Friday.

"You should get a medal."

They both froze when Maya's eyes found his across the room.

"I said that out loud, didn't I?"

Lucas just nodded.

And Maya Hart may know no shame, but she sure as hell felt guilt. Looking at one of her best friends, and realizing that they're estrangement hadn't just affected her, brought on a whole lot of guilt.

"It's not what you think." She offered up gently, running a hand through her hair.

Lucas dropped himself onto the bed farthest from her. "At this point, I don't even want to pretend I know what to think." They both smiled at the same time, and Maya tried to hide a nervous laugh behind a cough. "My triple 76's didn't prepare me for this."

"High school doesn't teach you everything." Maya's voice dropped and she crawled onto the opposite bed, Farkle and Riley to her back. "Mr. Matthews would be so disappointed." When Lucas didn't smile, she shook her head.

"I-" Her laugh was back, and Maya bit it off just as Lucas said her name.

"Best effort aside," he was moving again, and Maya had to resist the urge to scoot backward. "At some point, we're actually gonna have to talk about the fact that we –"

Maya was on her feet in seconds, vaulting over the bed to clamp her hand down over Lucas's lips.

Lucas would have been proud of the fact that she hadn't flinched if it weren't for the fact that this was the closest she had allowed herself to be to him since he had left her at _Topanga's_. And she had put herself in this position.

It also took everything he had not to lick her hand.

And no, he didn't want to think too much about that.

"They're both asleep," he said instead, his voice muffled by her hand.

"Riley's asleep." Maya corrected harshly. "Riely's damn near dead to the world, and I could hop up and down on the couch and she wouldn't move." As long as she didn't touch her, but that was a caveat that didn't need to be addressed. With a careful glance, she eyed the brunette in the armchair, t-shirt announcing to all that he wasn't slacking off, his code was compiling. "Would you put it past Farkle to notice something was up and fake sleep to get answers?"

As if just realizing that they may actually have an audience, they looked at each other, and then back to Farkle.

"So it's not the conversation you're having problems with," Lucas finally pulled her hand away from his lips. "It's the location?"

"I kind of screwed myself just now," Maya pushed her lips out with her tongue. "Didn't I?"

His nose wrinkled and she was equal parts annoyed and anxious.

Taking a moment to note the pile of room keys on the long dresser, and deciding that Maya was not going to be given time to back out, Lucas scooped her up over his shoulder, grabbed one key from each pile, and headed out the door.

"Lucas Tristan Friar," she grabbed a hold of his belt to keep herself from bouncing around, understanding far too well that she could smack him all she wanted, but all it would do is make her hands hurt. "What the hell are you doing?"

The door to the room across the hall opened, and Maya watched it shut behind them before Lucas deposited her on the nearest bed.

"If I'd given you the option of following me over here," he started, shoving both keys in his pocket. "Would you have?" She paused a second too long, and he nodded. "That's what I thought."

"I didn't want to have the conversation to begin with!" Maya's hands came up to steady herself before she fell off the bed. "I said everything I wanted to say that Monday –"

It was Lucas's turn to bring his hand up to her mouth.

And he had to resist the urge to curse when she actually bit him.

"Well I didn't," he announced. She wasn't entirely sure what part of that statement made her freeze. It probably had something to do with the fact that Lucas was so very still. Any comment that she wanted to make died carefully in the back of her throat.

He waited until she blinked, and nodded slightly before continuing. "You're my best friend, Maya." One of them at least, at least that was what her mind corrected. Despite the conversation she had had with her mother that very night, she wasn't about to pretend that she was the most important person to anyone – save maybe Riley. She and Lucas were close, closer than a lot of people, but that didn't put her anywhere near the top of his list. "And yeah, we had a few drinks, and we took things too far,"

Her mouth opened, as if she was going to completely agree with him, which Lucas knew would mean that she would try to shut him down, so he leaned forward, dropping a finger to her lips. "But I don't care about the sex."

Maya's eyes widened.

"I don't care about the fact that I have officially seen more of you than any of my other friends, or that I now know more about you than anyone else." He took his finger away from her lips and turned to start to pace the room. "I don't care about the fact that the last thing I feel when I think about that night was that we did something wrong. And that yeah, there could be feelings there," he watched her tense out of the corner of his eye, allowing her a moment to compose herself before he finally turned around, crouching in front of the bed to be at eye level with her. "What I care about is that when it's all said and done, my best friend will barely look me in the eye." His point was made when Maya realized that she was, in fact, focused just below the bridge of his nose. With a flush, she managed to lock her blue to his green. "That somehow, I've managed to hurt her, and I don't know what to do to make that better.

" _That's_ what we need to talk about." He used his free hand to take a hold of hers. "That's what I want to fix."

Maya's eyes closed then. She could still feel him watching her face, and for the longest moment, she had nothing to say.

Her original plan was feeling better and better by the second.

"You didn't hurt me."

Lucas had released her, standing up and moving closer to the open picture window overlooking Temple Street. He was vaguely aware of the park on the other side of the building next to them. It actually took him a moment to realize that she had spoken. "What?"

"You didn't hurt me," Maya spoke again, pulling her knees up to her chest. He wasn't Riley, and there was no bay window in sight, but if there was ever a time for her to actually tell him the truth, this was probably it. "Okay," she breathed, watching him actually turn to face her. "So I'm not nearly as experienced as I like to pretend that I am, and I probably should have stretched before taking you home" she didn't need to be looking at him to see his smile. "But you didn't hurt me."

His eyes rolled. "I'm not just talking about the physical, Maya."

"I know." Did she say that a little too fast? It certainly felt like it. "You didn't hurt me." There was a joke in there somewhere about the sheer number of times she's repeated that in the last two minutes.

"Then why the," he gestured between them, "this?"

"I don't even know how it happened." Her words were a rush, and she had to force herself to stay seated. Moving would mean getting closer to him, and she wasn't sure she was ready for that yet. "The kissing; me taking you home," the clarification probably wasn't needed, but she did it anyway, gesturing between the two of them. It was something she'd considered many times during her period of self-flagellation. "I don't know how we went from saying good night to Riley and Farkle to me being under you." That wasn't the complete truth. She remembered the night with almost perfect clarity. She understood the progression, just not the thought process. "And then I was waking up alone, trying to piece it all together."

Lucas had the sense to look sheepish now. It had been unavoidable, him leaving her in the morning.

"And it scares me." Had she meant to say that out loud? But once it had been said, it couldn't be taken back. "For once I wasn't thinking about the next step, or what I could lose."

Lucas shook his head, moving back toward the bed. Was that why she had been so adamant against them having this discussion? Did she really think that he would throw their friendship away because they crossed a few lines? "Maya, no one's going anywhere."

She wanted to believe him.

Her life just never seemed to work that way.

He was fairly certain that he hadn't meant to kiss her. And once he had, Lucas had told his hands to let her go, not pull her off of the bed into his lap. He'd only wanted to make her feel better, to convince her that whatever she was telling herself was wrong.

Nowhere had there been the thought to pull her under him on the hard hotel floor.

That didn't exactly stop him, one hand anchored to her hip, the other in her hair.

And Maya would curse herself later, but she didn't protest, using her arms as leverage to readjust them, so he was no longer laying on her leg, and her knee could come up to brush his side. Her tank top was lost between breaths, and his belt sometime after that.

After a time, Lucas just gave up trying to think.


	4. Chapter 4: Trust Issues

Title: Run, Run, Run  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 3,441  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Lucas Friar and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Kelly Clarkson song _Run, Run, Run._ In this chapter you will also find the lyrics to One Direction's _Perfect._ I don't own either of those.

* * *

It wasn't until the world had stopped spinning – and they'd actually made it onto the bed – that the two of them seemed to realize that discussion didn't exactly mean resolution, and they were back in the exact same position that they had started out in.

Figuratively speaking, of course.

Maya was on her stomach now, pillows piled under her, and facing the foot of the bed. The sheet was pulled up around her, but she could still feel Lucas's breath on her shoulder blades, where his head rested. They were both quiet except for their breathing, and Maya could feel his heartbeat slowing against her skin.

"This wasn't how I expected this conversation to go."

It was such an absurd statement, that Maya couldn't help the giggle, her entire body shaking. "You don't say?" She rolled onto her side, dislodging Lucas and pulling the sheet with her. "Is this the part where you suggest that we have another discussion, to talk about this?"

His hands came up of their own volition, finding the tender skin of her sides, and flexing carefully, watching her squirm under his tickling. "You think you're funny, don't you?" He asked as her body twisted.

"I do," she managed between breaths. "I think I'm hilarious." She was under him fully now, turned so their chests were pressed together, and his hips pinning her legs to the bed. Maya couldn't help shifting her hips to make herself a bit more comfortable. Lucas's smile darkened for a fraction of a second. "You okay there, cowboy?"

"I'm just wondering how we got like this," he said slowly, readjusting his hips so her knee wasn't digging into his leg.

Maya laughed. "If I need to explain this to you, we're in worse shape than I thought." Neither one of them had been a virgin the night of the party; Maya gave hers up earlier in the school year to a senior that she had honestly never spoke to again – her choice, not his. She wasn't entirely sure when Lucas gave his up, or to whom, now that she thought about it.

He nudged her with his hip and laughed. "Totally not what I was talking about," Lucas warned her sweetly. She scrunched her nose at him and he had to stop himself from licking it. "Maya, I-"

"I'm gonna stop you right there." It only took a nudge for Lucas to push off of her, allowing her to sit up. He eyed her cautiously. "You're about to get all noble, and try to make sense of this," she took another deep breath, pulling her knees up to her chest in an effort to separate them more fully. "And I'm not trying to ignore the –" Maya gestured between the two of them. In the back of her mind her mother cautioned that if she couldn't say the word, she probably shouldn't be doing it. "I'm not trying to ignore the fact that we've done this twice now."

Lucas released the breath that he wasn't sure when he started holding. "Then what are you trying to do?"

Maya had been right when she'd said that he was going to get noble. Lucas had already thought out the speech that he would give her, asking her out on a proper date and praying that she wasn't going to laugh him out of the room. Or she'd at least let him get dressed first. He wasn't entirely sure where they were headed. After all, they had tried dating once upon a time – which hadn't ended well for anyone. That wasn't to say that he wasn't willing to give it another try. Twice now they'd proven that there was still chemistry; that there was something there.

"I'm saying that there's no reason why we need to try to come up with a reason why this keeps happening." Did that even make sense? Maya shook her head, her hair falling out of its braid around her.

His eyebrows rose, and Maya realized that it was quite possible she had messed that up.

"What?"

"You said yourself that you're not looking for anything serious." She pushed on though, words falling from her lips faster than she could really control them. It was a true statement nonetheless; something that Lucas had been almost adamant about after Dana Roberts had dumped him when her family had moved out of state. Maya had sworn off relationships in general by the beginning of her sophomore year, choosing instead to date randomly whenever the mood struck her. "And I'm," she groped for any non-self-depreciating adjective she could come up with, finally just settling on the obvious. "Me."

When it finally dawned on him, exactly what she was saying – or not as the case may have been – his eyes widened almost comically. "So you're saying that we just use each other,"

Yes, her mind shouted, even as the rest of her snapped "No." Another eyebrow rose and Maya shrugged. "Yes?" She tried again. "I don't know."

This entire conversation would feel a lot different if it weren't for the fact that he was fluent in Maya, Lucas was sure of it. It said nothing of the fact that neither one of them had made mention of the fact that they were naked.

Lucas allowed a small chuckle. Figuratively and literally it seemed.

He took a deep breath, blowing it out of his nose. "You don't mind the sex," he clarified, watching her face for any twitch that might help him along with his conclusions. "You don't mind the touching, and the closeness." There was a small nod, and Lucas was a little relieved that he was on the right track. "But you don't want to talk about it?"

She had never felt more stupid than at that moment. "I don't want it to be a thing." Maya shuddered as she said the word. "I don't want to overanalyze it, or make it mean more just because we're friends."

Another breath and Lucas slid to the edge of the bed to grab his boxers from the floor. He didn't bother with the modesty of trying to slide them over his hips with the top sheet on; Maya had already gotten a good view of his ass. Once clothed, he crossed the room. If asking for clarification hadn't helped him, maybe distance would.

"Has it occurred to you that it's already _a thing_?" He asked no one in particular. When she frowned, he could feel it without looking at her. " _Because we're friends_."

Of course she'd thought of it. Maya wasn't stupid, just _really_ hopeful. Because if she and Lucas examined whatever this was, and he talked her into getting together officially and seeing where it led, then she was going to have to sit down with her best friend and discuss what that meant for them. It might have been years since she, Lucas, and Riley had pretended to create an actual triangle, but she wasn't about to jump head first into the middle of another one unprepared. Riley may have Will, and have sworn off Lucas, but the 'girl code' still existed.

And it was fierce.

And no, Maya had absolutely no interest in examining why she thought that a benefits arrangement – because let's be honest, that was what she was suggesting – was in any way easier on them all.

Probably because it meant that there was a chance Riley wouldn't have to know.

"Maya?"

He was looking at her expectantly when she dropped her arms, circling them around her knees. How long had it been since he spoke? Did she miss anything?

"Neither one of us can afford a _thing_ ," Maya pointed out gently. And he hated how small her voice had become. "We've got a year and a half before college," she held the end of the sentence gesturing around the room as if to remind him of their earlier conversation. College meant they would be going their separate ways, all of them. "Then at least four years of long weekends and holidays, none of which makes me feel warm and fuzzy about a relationship if that's where you think this is going."

Her point was valid, her tone downright painful.

"That says nothing of the fact that we've got two people across the damn hall that we're going to have to explain this to."

"You don't think we'd have to explain that we're only using each other for sex?!" Maya flinched, and Lucas prayed that his tone wasn't really as loud as he had thought it was. And please let the two he was referring to still be asleep.

"I think that that would be a hell of a lot easier than having to deal with the fallout of a breakup."

And there it was.

Maya's insecurities wrapped up in a neat little bow, disguised as concern for Farkle and Riley. Lucas wanted to admit that he didn't think that it wasn't genuine. She would have thrown herself out of the window right then and there if she thought it would benefit Riley.

Their eyes met, and Maya bit her lip when it seemed to occur to her just how naked she truly was.

He couldn't stop himself from moving back across the room. Lucas was on the bed and reaching for her before he even realized he was doing it. "Why don't we keep this casual?" He nodded when she seemed to realize just what he was offering her. "No official dates, no expectations, no rules."

"One rule." When he ducked his head to meet her eyes better, Maya smiled. "We don't do jealous."

"We don't do jealous?"

"If you see a pretty girl," Lucas rolled his eyes, and Maya's smile seemed to return almost instantly. "And you decide that you want to show her a little Texas charm, we end this."

Running both statements through his head, Lucas had to agree that that sounded fair, if a little unlikely. "That's two rules," he corrected. Then a beat. "And I have one of my own."

Maya braced herself.

"You tell Riley."

He wasn't even sure where she could have learned the words that fell from her lips. "Luc-"

"Non-negotiable." His fingers were on her lips in a heartbeat. "The three of us damn near tore each other apart-" and Farkle, although something told him that he didn't need to mention the genius "with this whole 'who likes who' shit." Eighth grade was truly a special time in hell for all of them. "And the last thing I want to do is create another rift between you two."

"Telling Riley means telling Farkle." Which meant telling Will, which meant telling Zay. All of which went unmentioned. Maya spared a quick moment to wonder how long it would take Farkle to tell Smackle.

It would be easier to just hire a skywriter to announce it to the island of Manhattan.

He'd created this condition; he was going to stick with it. "Then I'll tell Farkle."

And Maya was back to cursing.

Maya had really hoped that the thought of announcing – whatever the hell this was – to their nearest and dearest would have been the biggest deterrent. She'd obviously forgotten whom she was dealing with. "No jealousy, no commitment, and we're not keeping it a secret." Lucas nodded. "Do we," she looked between them slowly, "shake on it?"

For the first time in two weeks, Lucas didn't hesitate. Throwing a quick glance at the clock by the bed, he slid his arm around her shoulder to where her braid met the back of her skull. He then used that as an anchor to pull her lips to his.

Maya was suddenly very glad she hadn't bothered to get dressed.

* * *

In the end, Maya had left Lucas in the room across the hall.

They had all but destroyed one of the beds, and neither one of them wanted to chance Riley waking up and heading over to discover the destruction before the maid service had gotten a chance to put it back together.

She'd at least been nice enough to help him retrieve his overnight bag – which gave her the opportunity to take a shower in his room and put on her pajamas before sliding into the unoccupied bed in the room where Riley and Farkle were still out cold, although Farkle had at least made it to a bed while they were gone. They didn't question why he hadn't come looking for them.

Maya was almost afraid that he'd already known what he would find.

Thankfully the younger boy said nothing when Lucas finally surfaced, a tray of coffee in one hand, and a bag of pastries from the lobby café in the other. The trio hadn't been awake for that long, two of them having been woken to an almost hysterical Riley – who had realized almost as soon as she opened her eyes that they were missing a person. She calmed just as quickly, Maya throwing a pillow in her general direction and informing the room that at least one of them needed to follow Topanga's order before going back to sleep.

Maya accepted her java with a smile and wink before reaching into the bathroom without opening the door all the way to snag Riley's hairbrush. After Farkle's drink had been claimed, and Maya's hair brushed, she opened the door a second time to return the comb – leaving Riley's paper cup sitting on the edge of the sink next to her clothes.

They'd all slept through Topanga's first wake-up call. And now the race was on to make sure they were still able to make it to campus before her first lecture was over.

Riley had made it a point to mention that Maya and Lucas had both promised to make sure no one overslept. Her best friend didn't hesitate to remind her that those were lofty expectations, and no one should really rely on her to be on time anyway.

"If you like causing trouble up in hotel rooms."

It started out as a hum while Maya was brushing her teeth. Which, if Riley was being honest, wasn't something that was particularly odd. Maya's moods were various, and she wasn't above bouncing around happily after her second cup of coffee had kicked in. She'd been dancing around in her skinny jeans and knee high boots, hair loose underneath its chunky knitted beanie since they had left the hotel. If he hadn't been able to feel the cold, Lucas never would have guessed that it was almost 35 degrees outside the way she was fluttering about.

Her hip bumped Farkle's on the sidewalk, and he immediately switched places with the brunette to try to maintain everyone's balance. "And if you like having secret little rendezvous." Lucas sped up just a touch. "If you like to do the things you know that we shouldn't do," Maya raised her arms and spun in a circle, smiling when Lucas's hand immediately came up to keep her on the sidewalk. "Then baby I'm perfect." She fell back just long enough to wrap her arm around Riley's waist. "Baby I'm perfect for you!"

Farkle took a step to the left to avoid the two girls skipping past him. "Maya's singing." He turned his concerned gaze to Lucas.

The older boy gave no indication that he was as troubled as he maybe should be. "Yup."

"Maya's singing," he repeated. "A three year old One Direction song."

"I'm more concerned you know that." Lucas cast a grin to his friend, eyes bright.

This was most certainly a change from their attitudes on the train.

Riley had joined in now, and both boys stepped up the pace to keep up with them.

"So," Farkle kept one eye on the bouncing ladies in front of him, and one on the taller man next to him. "Good talk?"

If he hadn't been so concerned with making sure Maya didn't wind up on her ass in the snow, Lucas probably wouldn't have been as shocked to hear those words come out of Farkle's mouth. He stuttered, his foot landing wrong on the sidewalk, and he had to grab for Farkle's shoulder to keep himself upright. "Excuse me?"

"You two have been tense for weeks," Farkle nodded ahead of them, Riley checking her phone to make sure they took the right that kept them on College Street while Maya turned in another circle, completely oblivious to the group of college guys watching her. "And on the train, she would barely look at you." The younger man didn't need to mention the fact that when he had woken up shortly after two in the morning, to cover Riley back up, shed his jeans, and climb into one of the two empty beds, they were both missing. "I'm assuming that the two of you took the opportunity to discuss whatever has been bothering you."

Lucas wanted to say that he nodded at the assumption.

When he told Maya that he would tell Farkle about their 'arrangement,' he hadn't meant to have the conversation a handful of hours after the promise.

"There is the alternative."

Lucas was ready for it this time, sidestepping a pile of snow and keeping his footing. "Alternative?" He spared the girls another glance, Maya's curls still bouncing against her back, and crossed the street.

"That the two of you didn't talk at all."

"Maya'd beat you bloody for suggesting it."

It wasn't a denial, and both boys knew it.

Farkle readjusted his satchel, an accessory that Maya had mocked him mercilessly for bringing with. "That doesn't mean I'm wrong."

"You're never wrong, Farkle." The girls had dropped back, Riley more aware of the attention that they were getting, and wanting the feeling of safety that the guys provided her. His eyes shifted from the top of Riley's head to Maya's, and Lucas trusted that the younger man could understand what wasn't being said. "But that doesn't mean that we need to bring this up now."

"Bring what up now?" Balancing on her heels, Maya released Riley, sliding her arm through Lucas's and sharing a look.

Farkle didn't hesitate to step up now, smiling at both of them. "Chemistry," he responded easily. "Lucas and I were discussing the effects of adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin on the human body." While he was entirely serious – those were all chemicals that scientists had discovered doubled in the human body that caused attraction – he was subtly trying to let both Maya and Lucas know that he wasn't expecting anything from them.

Whatever it was that they were trying to figure out was between the two of them.

"I thought we all agreed that this would be an education free trip," Maya reminded them all.

It was Riley's turn to laugh. "Education free," she repeated, directing them to take their next left, the law campus looming ahead of them. "We spent three hours traveling north to _look at colleges_." They all seemed to be laughing now. "But it's an education free trip?"

" _You_ spent three hours traveling north to look at colleges." Maya corrected, flipping her hair from her face and pointing at Riley and Farkle. " _I_ spent three hours traveling north to get out of school for two days." She released Lucas to turn around, amazingly agile in the snow in her heels. Walking backward, she smiled. "Hanging with you three losers was a bonus."

Tease on the tip of his tongue, Lucas reached for her, spinning her to face the right direction and anchoring his hands on her hips to keep her moving. "You'll have to let me know how that plan works out for you," he whispered in her ear.

She turned enough to lick him, catching one of his hands in hers.

Lucas was about to respond – which would have something along the lines of if she kept it up he was going to return the favor – when Riley squealed, pointing ahead of them.

"There's Mom and Mr. Emerson!" She grabbed Farkle's hand, forcing him to run along with her. "We get to go on the tour early!"

There was a moment when Maya shook her head. She wasn't going to run. There was no miracle on this Earth that was going to make it to where she would be able to attend this school. And while Riley's excitement was contagious, and there would probably be a point where she and her best friend were arm-in-arm, racing across campus, that would not be this moment.

Instead, she kept her arm wrapped around Lucas's, and smiled when Riley turned to look behind her.

"Yay!"


	5. Chapter 5: The Minkus Expectation

Title: Run, Run, Run  
Category: Television Shows » Girl Meets World  
Author: And The Moment's Gone  
Language: English, Rating: Rated: T  
Words: 2,777  
Warnings/Spoilers: The kids are in High School, Josh is at NYU, Cory still lives in denial.

Summary: [Companion piece to Sooner or Later]

Official Disclaimer: All Girl Meets World characters and plots belong to Disney Channel, Marc Jacobs, and April Kelly, I do not hold stock either the company or the people. Maya Hart, Lucas Friar and any other character featured are NOT mine. The title comes from the Kelly Clarkson song _Run, Run, Run_ and I don't own that either.

* * *

It came as no surprise to anyone that Maya and Riley claimed the room that they had spent the night in when they made it back to the hotel hours later. Maya's reasoning was the fact that their stuff was already in it, and there was no reason why the girls should have to carry their stuff across the hall when it was easier for Farkle to just change locations.

It had absolutely no relation to the fact that Maya wasn't sure how she would be able to sleep in the room that she and Lucas had defiled.

Twice.

Nope, not at all.

Lucas and Farkle took it in stride, though; dragging Farkle's overnight bag to the room before returning to collect the girls for dinner. Topanga was going to be at another mixer for the evening, so they were handed cash and instructed to not go crazy.

The Omni's in house restaurant was immediately vetoed, by Maya when she realized that the cheapest item on the menu was a grilled cheese and short rib panini and that a cheeseburger was sixteen dollars. Both Farkle and Riley offered to cover her, after all, it was their fault that she was there. But before she could argue, Lucas solved the issue by finding them a burger tap house literally on the other side of the street that would suit all tastes.

He also served as the distraction when Farkle paid the bill for the entire table before the heading back to their rooms.

And yes, his arm still stung from where Maya hit him when she realized it.

It wasn't until hours later after Riley and Maya had kicked them out of their room a second time – this one due more to the fact that Farkle was trying to quiz them all on German terms – that their conversation on the way to the campus seemed to rear its head again.

"I don't even know how it happened." Lucas grabbed the pillow that was about to fall on the floor, accidently bumping his German text off the bed instead.

"You don't have to explain anything to me." Farkle shook his head as he slid his Forensic Science textbook back into his satchel. "What you and Maya do is none of my business." He kicked his shoes off, lining them up against the wall by his nightstand and double-checked the alarm on his phone.

There was a moment when Lucas couldn't hide his confusion. "'None of your business'?" He asked as he pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in the general direction of his suitcase. "Who the hell are you, and what have you done with Farkle?"

"I'm still Farkle," the younger man turned then, shaking his head. "I also know that you and Maya have been dancing around each since the fiasco that was the eighth grade."

Was that really how everyone saw the last year of middle school? Lucas supposed that there were, at least, a handful of good memories. He couldn't think of any at the moment, but there were probably some. Then the rest of what Farkle said caught up with him. "There has been no dancing."

"You beat the shit out of her first real boyfriend." Farkle rolled his eyes when Lucas started to protest that Kelly Sullivan deserved it for the way he treated their friend. "You've also made sure to remind every new suitor that she's had that you beat the shit out of Kelly Sullivan."

"Do you realize you're only talking about me here?" Lucas crossed his arms against his chest. "And I would have done the same for Riley if she'd been in the same position." He slowly realized that that should have been his first point. Locking eyes with Farkle, Lucas was suddenly very aware that he should have lead with the Riley thing.

"Of course, I'm only talking about you here. You're the one that I'm talking to." This was probably not the best conversation to have at eleven o'clock at night. But since Lucas didn't seem to understand that for once in his young life, Farkle Minkus was going to reserve judgment on the actions of two of his best friends, they really didn't have a choice. "You like Maya," he said simply. "It may not be the all-consuming romantic love that you think love should be, but you like her." When Lucas huffed again, Farkle reached for his bottle of water. "And we're not going to discuss sexual attraction," his scrunched his nose at the thought. "You're a seventeen-year-old boy, if you weren't sexually attracted to Maya Hart, we'd have to have your head examined."

Lucas had never been a fan of what Zay referred to as 'the kiss and tell'. The thought of him and Farkle actually talking about him having sex with Maya was probably the most uncomfortable part of the entire conversation.

Seeming to sense his friend's train of thought, Farkle laughed. "I mean hell; I'm sexually attracted to Maya Hart." He paused for a moment, possibly rethinking his bluntness or willingness to admit that particular sentence. Smackle was well aware. Amazingly enough, she seemed more threatened by Riley than Maya. Not that now was the time for him to be thinking about this. "She's Maya."

That didn't make it much better, but Lucas shook it off. Farkle's brain to mouth filter worked in mysterious ways. The blonde also wasn't about to tell his friend that he'd said that bit about Smackle aloud as well.

"The point I'm trying to make is that this is nothing new to me," turning on the queen sized bed, Farkle pulled his pillow underneath him, so he was both facing Lucas and propped up. "You and Maya have had this strange attraction thing going for as long as I've known you, and after you two had some drunken shenanigans at Caitlin's party, you finally have the chance to see where it could go, and you're taking it." It was succinct and to the point, and Farkle nodded to himself. "And while you seem to think that I don't understand that you're doing it on her terms – which means no labels and ignoring any attachments that come with it – I see it for what it is."

Well, damn.

Lucas shook his head, still trying to come to terms that Farkle seemed to have a better handle on his current situation than he did. "And you have nothing to say about any part of it?"

The younger boy just shrugged. "Are you planning on cheating on her?" He took a sip of his water and replaced the cap. Lucas's jaw slacked and Farkle's head shook slightly. "Are you suddenly going to start treating her badly, or ignoring her, or acting like her only reason for being is to satisfy you?"

"NO." Lucas didn't know if he was offended that those questions were voiced or not. Was that really what Farkle expected of him? "None of that."

Again, Farkle shrugged, putting the water bottle back on the end table. "Then I have nothing to say."

And for him, it really was that easy.

Half an hour later, after the conversation was abandoned in favor of _The Sandman Overture_ and Sports Center, Farkle spared a look over to the other bed. While his posture announced that Lucas was engrossed in the latest college basketball scores, his tapping foot, and well-worried lip said that he hadn't heard a word that Matt Barrie or Cari Champion had said.

"You're thinking kind of hard over there." Farkle watched as Lucas just sort of nodded. "I mean, Texas Tech just bit it hard against Sam Houston and you haven't said a thing."

Lucas just nodded.

"Fifty-six to seventy-one."

His mouth opened, maybe to agree, before the words caught up with him and Lucas stuttered. "What?" He reached for the remote as if he could somehow rewind the television to double check for himself.

Farkle closed the graphic novel and turned to his friend. "You've been watching the scores for the last half an hour, did any of them stick?"

He didn't want to admit that his best friend was right. Dropping the remote back to the bed, Lucas shook his head. "Why don't you have a problem with this?"

Farkle sighed, hoisting himself up on the bed, pulling his legs underneath him. "Do you want me to have a problem with this?" Lucas seemed to nod and shake his head all at the same time. "I'm sure I can come up with something."

He didn't have to.

Before Lucas could tell him that it was entirely possible that he was just looking for someone to tell him that this entire idea was ridiculous, the television was drowned out by the sound of a sloppy staccato playing on the hotel door.

They shared a look.

"Riley or Maya?" Lucas shifted on the bed, moving the remote to the night stand.

The knock sounded again, this time a touch softer, and Farkle smiled. "Maya." He decided, pointing to the door. "She's not sleeping in here."

Lucas nodded. He didn't need to be told that. Although that did mean that if Maya was at the door, it was a good chance Riley was asleep. "You may have to tell her that, though." The knock happened a third time, and Lucas rolled his eyes as he picked up the pace to the door.

It was entirely possible that he forgot that he wasn't wearing a shirt.

It was amazing how fast he realized it, though, when Maya's eyes raked over his chest. The blonde recovered quickly, though, raising the hands that she had made into a platform, book laying flat on top of them. "Please, sir," her lip jutted out and she batted her eyes. "I want some more."

"Have you ever actually read _Oliver Twist_?" But Lucas couldn't hide his smile, and he pulled the door wider to allow her entrance.

Throwing herself on the bed Farkle was sitting up on, and still giggling about Lucas's lack of shirt, she shook her head. "Considering my English class is reading _Rebecca_ , I don't think it matters too much."

Taking the book from her, Farkle laughed. "I loved her against reason, against promise, against peace," he threw a look at Lucas, who was in the process of retrieving his t-shirt from his suitcase. "Against happiness, against all discouragement that could be."

"Pretty sure that's not either book either." Lucas dropped himself onto his own bed, reaching for the remote, this time to hit the mute button. "Riley asleep?"

"Passed out in the middle of braiding her own hair." She retrieved the book from her friend's hand. "I finished it for her, in case either of you was interested." They weren't, but Lucas smiled at the mental image of Maya finishing whatever it was that Riley was doing to her head before tucking the brunette into her bed. "Turns out, there isn't anything good on T.V. after midnight."

Farkle nodded to Sports Center, almost in agreement. "So you've decided to do schoolwork?" The copy of _Rebecca_ was referenced again, as Farkle readjusted himself to make more room for Maya on the bed.

"I've got a handful of questions that I need to answer and there's supposed to be a test or something on Monday." Maya shook her head, "This seemed like as good a time as any." When Farkle lounged back onto his pillows, Maya rolled over onto her stomach, earning a shake of the head from the man on the other bed. "What?" Lucas rolled his eyes and smiled back at him. "I can be a good student when the occasion calls for it." Another eye roll, this time her own, and she pulled the bookmark from its place. "And this isn't the worst book ever written."

They all remembered freshman literature and composition, and the poor old Mrs. Wilson who tried to force them to read _Cold Sassy Tree_. Maya still maintained that she should have bought her own copy, just so she would have had the privilege to burn it when the semester was over. Then again, she'd also felt that way about _Anna Karenina_. She'd barely made it through two out of the three modern versions that they'd found on Netflix. The third was Russian with subtitles, so she really didn't think it counted.

"Glad to see you're enjoying du Maurier." Farkle reached for his graphic novel again, smile in place. He was trying to debate with himself on whether he should kick Maya off his bed now because they all knew that she was bound to pass out sooner or later, or just wait until Lucas needed to carry her back across the hall.

At least she was using her room key as one of her book marks.

Made it easier to find.

When Lucas stretched out again, Farkle decided that if he did it now, he could pretend that he didn't notice when Maya fell asleep. Lucas seemed much less antsy with the blonde in the room. "This bed's mine," he kicked the covers a bit further down the bed, purposely hitting Maya's knee.

She was going to argue it; they all could see it. But then her eyes caught Lucas's over the top of her book and quickly looked away. That meant that he and Farkle had had their conversation. It was a shame the same couldn't be said for her and Riley.

"I don't need you passing out and kicking me anyway, Minkus." Maya pulled herself off of the coverlet, thankful that she had decided to wear her leggings across the hall rather than the sweat shorts that she had been wearing when Riley had passed out. Which sort of reminded her that she needed to see if there was a gym in this place. While she didn't exactly need the exercise the same way Lucas and Riley did, resuming her jogs with her best friend when they got back to the city was going to be a bitch if she didn't at least put in some time on a treadmill this weekend.

She took three steps forward and laughed when Lucas scooted himself towards the middle of the bed to make room for her. He held the arm with the remote up, nodding to the space open on the bed. If that hadn't been where Maya was already planning on dropping – a familiar position she had adopted months ago since it was both comfortable and warm – she might have called him on it.

Instead Maya just kicked her slippers off and slid onto the bed, turning a bit so she could still see Farkle clearly.

"Minkus said you're not sleeping in here." Lucas managed to catch the actual score of the Texas – Sam Houston game, before looking down at the blonde.

For half a second, Farkle actually looked shocked that Lucas had put it so bluntly. "Like I'd want to anyway." She flipped to the next page in her book and bit her lip. "Boys have cooties."

The sentence was so absurd that Farkle didn't even bother to cover the laugh that sprung up. Even if he hadn't been aware of what had happened in the bed the two of them were lying on, he knew enough about Maya's high school proclivities to call bull.

The room fell quiet again, the muted sounds of the television taking over as everyone fell back into their individual rhythm.

It took a total of fifteen minutes for Lucas to notice that Maya had passed out.

Another three for him to get Farkle's attention and alert him of the development.

The younger man just smiled, reaching for his phone and sending a quick text message to Riley's phone before setting an earlier alarm. "I'm not sure which one of us is more whipped," he commented off-handedly, dropping his graphic novel onto the end table and turning off the light on his side.

Lucas shifted carefully, making sure to pull the cover up over Maya's legs. "They've just had more time to train you." He set the timer on the television, allowing the NCAA highlights to lull him.

Before either boy actually drifted off, though, Lucas coughed. "Thanks, for earlier." He took a quick breath, not knowing whether or not Farkle was actually going to answer. "I'm not sure what I was expecting."

"I'm sure whatever it is, you'll get it with Zay." Farkle sat up long enough to turn off the light on Lucas's side of the table as well before flipping to his other side and passing out.


End file.
